It’s a sad reality that many of us find ourselves just too busy to contribute to our communities. For a long time, I, too, believed it cost too much in time, money and ______ to make a real difference. But all that changed when I ______ my good-deed-a-day project.
My daughter, Emily, was my primary ______. I wanted to show her we could do little things to help others, and be ______.
The first week, I wasn’t sure if I could ______ it. I surfed the Internet for ideas. One day, I ______ a blind man in the subway station. He ______ as he thanked me. Another day, I brought flowers from my garden to a ______ nursing home......I could only hope I was arousing ______ in others.
After just a few days, ______ I found it easier than I’d expected. I knew I was making a/an ______.
Every evening at the dinner table, I ______ that day’s good deed to Emily. Emily began ______ what I’d started. On a walk home from school, she ______ to a neighbour’s pot of geraniums (天竺葵), which had toppled (摇晃) in the wind, and set it right. “That was my good deed for the day!” she yelled. Another day, she helped me collect ______ from our neighbours for the food bank. We dropped off the food and, ______ we drove away, Emily announced ______ that she wanted to work there one day.
By the last week, I knew I’d changed. At first, I hadn’t been entirely ______ that I could do a good deed every day. Now it was practically second ______. I felt a greater responsibility to take action when I saw a need, ______ looking the other way. I felt as though I’d awakened, somehow.
1.A. energy B. space C. wisdom D. salary
2.A. stopped B. started C. forgot D. remembered
3.A. donation B. expectation C. celebration D. inspiration
4.A. lucky B. clever C. happy D. merciful
5.A. get B. manage C. put D. appreciate
6.A. watched B. waited C. guided D. ordered
7.A. smiled B. sighed C. frowned D. jumped
8.A. popular B. distant C. deserted D. local
9.A. interest B. mercy C. awareness D. praise
10.A. though B. besides C. therefore D. also
11.A. discovery B. difference C. mistake D. fortune
12.A. reminded B. pointed C. recalled D. described
13.A. criticizing B. sharing C. laughing D. praising
14.A. marched over B. pulled over C. turned over D. fell over
15.A. money B. vegetables C. donations D. clothes
16.A. before B. since C. until D. as
17.A. proudly B. eagerly C. anxiously D. casually
18.A. concerned B. convinced C. expected D. persuaded
19.A. scene B. language C. nature D. skill
20.A. by means of B. regardless of C. as well as D. instead of
Live Every Day Like It’s A Holiday
We feel great on holiday because we let go of everyday stresses and strains. 1. So whether or not you’re going away this summer, there’s plenty you can do to make sure you benefit from that holiday feeling.
Sleep like a holidaymaker
Sleep like a baby when you’re on your holidays but stay awake when you’re in your usual routine? 2. To reset your sleep pattern, avoid bringing problems to bed. That includes your phone, TV or laptop. Make sure the room is dark and cool. Aim for at least seven hours’ —just as you would on holiday.
Get moving
3. Given that exercise is cheap, healthy and reduces stress, it makes absolute sense to build it into your day. A walk will release happy hormones, and eases anxiety and mild depression.
4.
Part of the joy of going away is lingering over delicious food with families. Take up the holiday habit of sitting down as a family for at least one meal a day. Families who eat together experience less anxiety, less depression and less obesity, research has found.
Be a tourist in your own city
Part of the thrill of a holiday is the novelty of discovering a new place and doing new things. 5. At weekends, check out a new music venue, visit a different museum or have a drink in that interesting-looking pub you’re always walking past. It will get you out of routine and make you feel alive. A bit like a holiday, really.
A. Make your meals a celebration.
B. Carve out some dedicated quiet time.
C. If so, you might need to examine your sleep habits.
D. Just make sure you schedule it into your day or week.
E. But it’s also easy to be a holidaymaker in the place you live.
F. Research has even shown that vacations help health and well-being.
G. When you’re travelling, you walk around new cities without a second thought.
Nearly 20 U.S. states have started carrying out former president Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which places limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in an effort to reduce the impacts of climate change. The plan has been in legal limbo (边缘) for the past year. Yet scientists have now calculated another outcome of the policy: harm to crop yields (产量) if the plan is cancelled. Along with carbon pollution, coal-fired power plants spew (喷出) pollutants that form what we know as smog. The contribution of smog to increased rates of asthma (哮喘) and premature deaths was already known. The new research estimates the extent to which smog, under air-pollution policies-4n place before the Clean Power Plan, would limit production in 2020 of four major crops: corn, cotton, potatoes and soybeans.
Led by environmental engineer Shannon L. Capps, now at Drexel University, the team also sketched the extent to which those crop production losses would reduce under three nationwide scenarios (方案). One improved the efficiency of individual power plants. Another modeled a policy similar to the Obama plan, setting state CO2 emissions goals for the electricity department. A third established a tax on carbon emissions, under which emissions fell the most. But the greatest drop in smog-forming pollutants—and greatest gains in crop yields—came from policies such as the Clean Power Plan.
Researchers calculated how well each scenario would reduce the potential productivity loss (PPL) of each crop. PPL is a projected value for 2020 and indicates how much crop growth would suffer because of smog. Scenario 2 most closely agrees with results expected from the Clean Power Plan.
1.What’s the main purpose of The Clean Power Plan?
A. To offer clean power, B. To limit CO2 emissions.
C. To slow climate change. D. To increase crop production.
2.The latest research shows that smog may cause .
A. asthma B. early deaths
C. heart disease D. crop production loss
3.What can we infer from Paragraph 2?
A. Scenario 3 was intended to increase taxes.
B. Scenario 2 increased crop yields most.
C. Scenario 1 didn’t have any effect on crop yields.
D. The three scenarios were made at Drexel University.
4.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. U.S. states restart the Obama’s Plan.
B. The Clean Power Plan was called off.
C. Three scenarios benefit crop yields.
D. Smog does harm to people’s health.
When you were at school, the last thing you probably wanted to do was spend your weekends going to work. There was homework to do, sport to play and fun to have. But our parents probably persuaded us to find a job to earn some money and get some life experience. When I was a teenager I had a paper round: delivering newspapers to people's homes. I then progressed to a Saturday job in a supermarket: stacking shelves and working at the checkout.
Today in the UK you are allowed to work from the age of 13, and many children do take up part-time jobs. It's one of those things that are seen almost as a rite of passage(成人仪式).It's a taste of independence and sometimes a useful thing to put on your CV(简历).Teenagers agree that it teaches valuable lessons about working with adults and also about managing their money.
Some research has shown that not taking up a Saturday or holiday job could be deleterious to a person later on. A 2015 study by the UK Commission on Employment and Skills found that not participating in part-time work at school age had been blamed by employer's organizations for young adults being ill-prepared for full-time employment, but despite this, recent statistics have shown that the number of schoolchildren in the UK with a part-time job has fallen by a fifth in the past five years.
So, does this mean that British teenagers are now afraid of hard work? Probably not. Some experts feel that young people feel going out to work will affect their performance at school, and they are under more pressure now to study hard and get good exam results-and a good job in the long term. However, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News that "Properly regulated（控制的）part-time work is a good way of helping young people learn skills that they will need in their working lives." In reality, it's all about getting the right balance between doing part-time work and having enough time to study and rest.
1.How did the author feel about doing part-time jobs on weekends when he was a teenager?
A. Unwilling. B. Interested.
C. Delighted. D. Angry.
2.Which of the following may NOT be the benefit of school children's doing part-time jobs?
A. Learning to be independent. B. Gaining some life experience.
C. Being prepared for future jobs. D. Spending what they earn as they like.
3.What does the underlined word "deleterious" in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. valuable. B. harmful.
C. necessary. D. beneficial.
4.What can we learn from Paragraph 4?
A. Students should spend all their time on studies.
B. Students should have as many part-time jobs as possible.
C. Doing part-time jobs must affect students' school results.
D. It's important for students to balance part-time jobs and studies.
For most of her life, Suanne Laqueur’s passion for storytelling was shown on the dance floor.
Although Laqueur began writing at a young age, dancing always took center stage. She majored in dance and theater at Alfred University and taught at her mother’s dance studio in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, for years. But when her mother was ready to retire and an opportunity opened for Laqueur to take over the studio, she realized she had no interest in taking on the business side of her art: “Owning a studio is a lot of work—financially, logistically. I love the teaching, the choreographing(编舞), the staging, but I didn’t want to own it.”
Yet Laqueur’s disinterest in running the studio changed when she became a self-published author. In the fall of 2013, she decided to pursue Self-publishing as a way of sharing her first completed novel with friends and family. During the process, she realized that following her true passion—telling stories through writing—made the business of the art worthwhile, and owning that business meant she could direct her writing career however she chose.
Starting with her second self-published novel, she began investing more time in marketing and building her audience. Her investment paid off. Since 2014, Laqueur, now 49, has self-published six novels, which collectively have hundreds of ratings and reviews on Goodreads. Her 2016 novel An Exaltation of Larks stole the show at the 25th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards, topping more than 2,300 entries to win the grand prize.
“You have to write the most truthful story to you, and I think self-publishing allows that freedom,’ she says. “If you work with traditional publishing, it’s more about what’s marketable, There are trade-offs, which everyone will tell you, but by self-publishing I have control of the book, I have control of the story, and I’m cool with that.”
1.From Paragraph 2，we can learn that Laqueur _______.
A. wanted to own a publishing house
B. didn’t like teaching dancing in fact
C. was a part-time writer when she was young
D. was interested in running her mother’s studio
2.What made Laqueur change her attitude to business?
A. Her mother’s persuasion. B. Self-publishing her novels.
C. The desire to make money, D. Her own passion toward art.
3.Which of the following can best replace the phrase “stole the show” in Paragraph 4?
A. became a failure. B. was shown to people.
C. got all the attention. D. was accidentally stolen.
4.What can be inferred from what Laqueur’s said?
A. She enjoys the way of self-publishing.
B. She will never use traditional publishing.
C. Traditional publishing only focuses on the market.
D. Self-publishing will replace traditional publishing.
Wanted: A Personal Assistant
I’m a very busy woman, looking for an assistant to help me with certain important tasks. This is not your average assistant job. What I’m looking for is someone to take care of some of my more personal business so that I may focus on my true passion: grocery shopping. Please apply if and only if you are willing and able to accomplish the following tasks:
Work I would love to have a nine-to-five job. However, I find sitting in an office all day unbearable. An ideal assistant would secure a high-paying office job and excel in that setting, even going so far as to eagerly accept every invitation to after-work drinks.
Go on family vacations I love my family, especially when I don’t have to spend time with them. Thus, I will require my employee to attend all family vacations in my place. Since I’ll miss out on spending time with my nephews, a good assistant will live-stream (直播) them for me the entire time while discreetly muting the live-stream whenever they start fighting.
Exercise I am determined to get in better shape but find working out strenuous and tiring. The right candidate will exercise for a minimum of an hour every day and allow me to reap the benefits of his or her vigorous activity.
Eat Just kidding—I love eating!
Date I’m looking for love but find dating tedious and intimidating. Ideally, my employee will get a drink with a potential mate so he or she can do the tiresome work of getting to know someone and deciding whether I’ll like him. If the romantic candidate advances past a third date, I’d be willing to step in and proceed with the relationship from there, excluding birthdays, holidays, and other high-pressure situations.
Have a baby I’m eager to have a child, but being pregnant and giving birth seems hard. Likewise, raising a child seems daunting. I’d prefer to spend an hour or two with my child each day while someone else tackles the incredible responsibility of childrearing. Once my child turns 18, I will happily assume all parenting duties, excluding any financial obligations.
1.What is the author truly interested in?
A. Spending vacations. B. Going shopping.
C. Dating someone. D. Raising children.
2.The personal assistant needs to do the following things for the author EXCEPT ________.
A. working out. B. going to work.
C. accompanying families. D. eating delicious food.
3.What do you think is the purpose of the passage?
A. To warn. B. To inform. C. To amuse. D. To advertise.
